Editorial: Kilby Street name change a bold move

Walter Bird Jr. Editor @walterbirdjr/@worcestermag

Thursday

Mar 21, 2019 at 9:37 AM

The reaction to the changing of the name Kilby Street to Boys & Girls Club Way, at least in social media responses to Worcester Magazine’s reporting, has been varied. Some have expressed support, others less so. Some cracked jokes. To be sure, changing the name of a street with the history Kilby Street has in Worcester was a bold move. Was it the right one?

“If it’s going to make the kids feel safer, I’m all for it.”

Those were the words of Mike Earielo, and if anyone is qualified to talk about Kilby Street, it’s him. Now the man in charge at Everyday Miracles on Pleasant Street, where he helps people, many of them addicted to drugs or recovering from drug addiction, turn their lives around, Earielo was also a founding member of the Kilby Street Posse. His history with the neighborhood runs deep, and he thinks it will take more than a name change to alter the course of an area that, in the eyes of many, is still tied to gang activity. While he was glad the name change might make kids feel safer, Earielo also didn’t want folks to think a new street sign or two erases history – or alters the future.

Here’s the second part of what he said: “But I don’t want this to be a distraction on the fact that we still have a lot more work to be done down in that area. It’s going to take more than changing that street sign.”

Earielo and other acknowledge much has already been done to change the public perception, not just of Kilby Street, but of the Main South neighborhood in which it resides. You have to be wearing blinders not to notice the positive changes that have taken place there, and many deserve credit: from local, state and federal officials, to neighborhood organizations such as the Main South Community Development Corporation, to Clark University, whose fingerprints are all over some of the good work that has been done. Locally, District 4 City Councilor Sarai Rivera is widely credited with battling the negative perceptions, and refusing to allow stereotypes to persist.

Main South has had, and continues to face, its challenges. But there is much positive to be found as well, and it doesn’t always get its due. Will changing one street name help? Perhaps not, and there are arguments against it, such as inconveniencing residents on the street with having to make the necessary adjustments to their mailing addresses. Others suggest you cannot erase history. There is also the concern, one Earielo has expressed previously, that current members of the Kilby Street Gang might push back against the name change. He and others have also questioned whether other streets in neighborhoods with less-than-stellar reputations in Worcester will also be eyed for name changes.

What is most notable about the Kilby Street name change is that it was led by youth who live in the area. Agree or disagree, they spoke loudly against the persistent negative perceptions they encounter whenever they tell someone, “I live on Kilby Street.” Now Boys & Girls Club Way will carve out its own history.